Deodorant granulates for ashtrays

ABSTRACT

Deodorant granulate for lining ashtrays for receiving tobacco ash, including an active component. The active component includes perfume which is one of aromatic and suitable for use on the human body, high viscosity solvent with low evaporation, and undecylenic acid deodorant. The active component is incorporated into non-inflammable mineral granulates whose granularity is selected so as not to leave any trace of dust when used, and has a porosity that enables the mineral granulate to absorb at least 15 wt % of the active component, and to release the active component upon contact with a lit cigarette or cigar. Method for lining ashtrays.

This application is a 371 of PCT/FR96/01405 filed Sep. 12, 1996.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to deodorant granulates for ashtrays.

They are adapted to line the base of all types of ashtrays receivingtobacco ash. Indeed, they can be used in table ashtrays as well, whetherin homes, bars or restaurants, and in large capacity ashtrays located inpublic areas such as train stations, airports, or large commercialareas, and also in car ashtrays.

2. Discussion of Background

It is well-known that tobacco odors, especially those emanating fromashtrays, are among the most undesirable. One of the most unpleasantodors is that of cold tobacco.

The rapid development over the last few years of anti-smoking campaignshas given rise to increasingly more restrictive legislation, especiallyas regards non-smoking areas in restaurants and public areas.

The solutions found up until now to suppress the perception of tobaccoodors coming from ashtrays have a very limited scope, and in order toobtain appreciable results, they have had to be associated with maskingtechniques so as to cover the tobacco odor, qualified as unpleasant, byanother odor, perceived as pleasant.

As a result, in most cases, deodorizing performances are unequal to thetask, since the perfumes that are used are generally perceived as beingtoo strong, which affects the pleasure of the individual smoking,without really satisfying the non-smoker who has often imposed the useof “anti-tobacco” products on the smoker. This is especially true in thecase of anti-tobacco deodorants for ashtrays.

It is obvious that a product which could suppress tobacco odors comingfrom the ashtray, its diffusion being accelerated from the time onestarts smoking and that is capable of filling the air with a pleasantodor for everybody in the immediate area, whether it be a restaurant,office, lounge, etc., could restore a “natural” conviviality betweensmokers and non-smokers.

Today, carriers for anti-tobacco products for ashtrays are:

either fine non-porous sand, colored and scented by coating, or porousbut with little receiving capacity for the active product, because ofits fineness;

or larger-sized granulates of various materials, for example, of plasticmaterial.

Their active product either promotes the deodorizing performance or thecovering of the odor by very strong perfumes, but no product effectivelyassociates the three elements that are necessary for a good finalresult:

a deodorizing system significantly reducing the unpleasant perception oftobacco odor and especially that of cold tobacco;

a high quality perfume that is sufficiently volatile so as to bediffused almost instantly as soon as it is touched by the incandescentend of the cigarette;

a non-inflammable carrier capable of receiving, retaining and releasingthe active products at the right time, i.e., as soon as it comes intocontact with the incandescent end of the cigarette.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The product according to the instant invention relates to improving thissituation. Indeed, it allows, at a very reasonable cost, the completeneutralizing of tobacco odors from the ashtray, while delicatelyperfuming the atmosphere, and this is done without detracting from thepleasure of the smoker, thereby providing the maximum in olfactorycomfort.

The deodorant for ashtrays is formed of an active component containing aperfume of aromatic type or suitable for use on the human body, a weaklyvolatile solvent and an undecylenic acid deodorant, said activecomponent being incorporated into granulates formed from anon-inflammable mineral carrier of a selected granularity so as not toleave any trace of dust when used, and of a porosity that enables it toreceive a substantial amount of the active product and to release itupon contact with a lit cigarette.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description relates to a non-limiting example ofone of the embodiments of the object of the invention.

The product targeted by the invention takes the form of granulates thatcombine a carrier having a high melting point and a well-definedgranulometry, a high quality perfume, a high viscosity solvent with lowevaporation, and a deodorizing ingredient.

The carrier is a defining element for the effectiveness of the ease ofuse of the product. It must have the highest possible melting point, andpumice stone or washing stone, which has a melting point of 1500° C., isperfect in this regard.

Its granulometry must be perfectly defined: if it is too fine, it willeither produce unwanted dust for the user, or it will not correctlyreceive substantial proportions of the active compound; if it is toocoarse, it will fulfill its function poorly. A good size for thesmallest granulates is 2-3 mm, and 5-8 mm for the largest. Granulatesthat are lightly polished into pebbles will be used advantageously.

This is a common product in this industry, wherein it has numerousapplications as an abrasive; its cost is very inexpensive. Finally, itsporosity (density of about 0.6 g/cm³) allows it to receive 15-20% of theactive compound necessary for obtaining optimum effectiveness by merelyspreading a thin layer at the bottom of the ashtray. The impregnationperiod is very short, and the granulates become perfectly dry in a fewminutes, thus the smell will not be transferred to the cigarette placedin the ashtray, even a non-lit cigarette.

The perfume used is the type used for body perfumes, and conforms to therequirements recognized by professionals in the perfume industry, andespecially to the French standard IFRA [International FragranceAssociation] and the recommendations of the US agency RIFM [ResearchInstitute for Fragrance Material].

This type of perfume must be sufficiently volatile so that the olfactorycomfort of perfuming the atmosphere is comparable, on all fronts, tothat of body perfuming. It will advantageously contain hesperidins(especially lemon) which have always proven their deodorizing abilities.

It could also agreeably restore alimentary or gourmet smells with thesame olfactory comfort.

The solvent will preferably be monopropylene glycol, but can alsoconsist of polypropylene glycol or a compound with similarcharacteristics.

Propylene glycol is largely recognized as being one of the best carriersof quality perfumes, capable of agglomerating possible traces of dustthrough its viscosity, and of controlling the output of the perfumeincorporated into the porous carrier through its low evaporation. Itconsists of a solvent having a melting point that is high enough toprovide a reduced inflammability to the aromatic materials bysufficiently lowering the flash point of the active product so as tocause the automatic extinguishing of the small flames which couldignite, for example, in the case of lit matches that are left in theashtray.

The deodorizing ingredient selected is undecylenic acid (known as“C11”), obtained from ricin oil, and which has proven its effectivenesswhen the dose is perfectly controlled.

In this case, it is used as ethyl undecylenate which is an ester ofundecylenic acid and ethanol, whose cosmetic quality is well known. Anappropriate dose allows its own odor to be used as one of theconstitutive elements of the perfume, as was demonstrated by our ownexperiments.

To make the active product, the perfume and the solvent will beadvantageously combined in proportions comprising between 20/80 and50/50, and for the deodorizing ingredient, the most conclusive resultswere obtained by incorporating substantially 3% of ethyl undecylenate.

This active product will then take up 15-20% in weight of the mineralcarrier retained for this application.

The granulates can be easily colored by incorporating colorings, thathave been approved in perfumeries, directly into the active product, inproportion of about 3% solution, containing 2-4% coloring, into water ormonopropylene glycol.

For an advertising or marketing objective, the deodorizing function canactually be visualized by coloring a small part of the granulatesdifferently. Therefore, by way of example, a small quantity of greengrains in a product of a different color could symbolize the presence ofa deodorant of natural origin.

The granulates for ashtrays thus obtained by assembling an activeproduct constituted of perfume, monopropylene glycol, ethyl undecylenateand coloring incorporated into pumice stone granulates, provide maximumeffectiveness and results unknown to this day, appreciated by smokersand non-smokers alike.

When placed in automobile ashtrays for non-smokers, they will maintain afresh and unobtrusive atmosphere for a long time, the output beingadjustable by the opened width of the ashtray.

The smoker has a product that does not detract from his pleasure.Indeed, the volatile nature of specially formulated perfumes means thatthey evaporate as soon as they come into contact with the incandescentend of the cigarette or cigar. Thus, there is no ill-timed perfuming ofthe tobacco smell, and the smoker's pleasure remains intact.

An appropriate dose of the undecylenic acid makes the deodorizing effectalmost complete, which can be noticed both by smelling the evaporatedsmoke from the ashtray which has no unpleasant tobacco odor, as well bysmelling the ashtray emptied after use, where practically no residualodor is smelled, especially practically no extremely unpleasant odor ofcold tobacco.

The perfuming effect is immediate and intervenes at the right time. Thegranulates in the ashtray act relatively weakly when at rest, but assoon as there is contact with the incandescent end of the cigarette, theperfume from the granulates is quickly evaporated and carried away bythe smoke into the atmosphere with the undecylenic acid. There are nomore unpleasant tobacco odors generated from the ashtray.

Since the perfuming effect reaches its optimum level by the quality ofthe perfume that evaporates, the atmosphere remains virtually unpollutedby the smoke exhaled by the smoker. This is the non-smoker's primarywish. One can go as far as claiming that the effect obtained is likelyto reinstate cohabitation between smokers and non-smokers.

The positioning of the various constitutive elements gives the object ofthe invention a maximum of useful effects which had not been obtained bysimilar products to this day.

What is claimed is:
 1. Deodorant granulate for lining ashtrays forreceiving tobacco ash, the deodorant granulate comprising: an activecomponent comprising: perfume which is one of aromatic and suitable foruse on the human body, high viscosity solvent with low evaporation, andundecylenic acid deodorant; the active component being incorporated intonon-inflammable mineral granulates whose granularity is selected so asnot to leave any trace of dust when used, and having a porosity thatenables the mineral granulate to absorb at least 15 wt % of the activecomponent, and to release the active component upon contact with a litcigarette or cigar.
 2. Deodorant granulate of claim 1, wherein the highviscosity solvent comprises monopropylene glycol.
 3. Deodorant granulateof claim 1, wherein the mineral granulate has a density of about 0.6g/cm³ and comprises one of pumice stone and washing stone.
 4. Deodorantgranulate of claim 1, wherein the mineral granulate comprises pebbleshaving a size range of 2 to 8 mm.
 5. Deodorant granulate of claim 1,wherein the mineral granulate comprises lightly polished pebbles havinga size range of 3 to 5 mm.
 6. Deodorant granulate of claim 1, whereinthe perfume is suitable for use on the human body.
 7. Deodorantgranulate of claim 6, wherein the perfume is made only from materialsconforming to requirements of International Fragrance Association andResearch Institute for Fragrance Material.
 8. Deodorant granulate ofclaim 1, wherein the perfume comprises an aromatic perfume.
 9. Deodorantgranulate of claim 8, wherein the aromatic perfume has alimentary odor.10. Deodorant granulate of claim 1, wherein the perfume and the highviscosity solvent are combined in proportions comprising between 20parts perfume for 80 parts solvent, and 50 parts perfume for 50 partssolvent.
 11. Deodorant granulate of claim 1, wherein the activecomponent substantially contains 3% of ethyl undecylenate.
 12. Deodorantgranulate of claim 1, wherein the deodorant granulate comprises 15-20%of the active component.
 13. Deodorant granulate of claim 1, wherein thedeodorant granulate is colored by incorporation into the activecomponent of colorants approved in perfumeries, in proportion of about3% solution containing 2-4% coloring, into one of water andmonopropylene glycol.
 14. A method of lining ashtrays, comprising:lining an ashtray with a deodorant granulate, the deodorant granulatecomprising an active component incorporated into non-inflammable mineralgranulates; the active component comprising: perfume which is one ofaromatic and suitable for use on the human body, high viscosity solventwith low evaporation, and undecylenic acid deodorant; thenon-inflammable mineral granulates incorporating the active componenthaving granularity selected so as not to leave any trace of dust whenused, and having a porosity that enables the mineral granulate to absorbat least 15 wt % of the active component, and to release the activecomponent upon contact with a lit cigarette or cigar.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the ashtray comprises a table ashtray used in one of ahome, a bar, and a restaurant.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein theashtray comprises a large capacity ashtray.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the large capacity ashtray is located in a public area.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the public area is one of a train station,an airport, and a large commercial area.
 19. The method of claim 14,wherein the ashtray comprises a car ashtray.
 20. The method of claim 14,wherein the mineral granulate comprises pebbles having a size range of 2to 8 mm.